


The perils of dating in Cardiff

by myotishia



Series: Psyonic [11]
Category: Doctor Who, Torchwood
Genre: Gen, Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-02
Updated: 2020-11-12
Packaged: 2021-03-09 03:28:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 10,872
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27358042
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/myotishia/pseuds/myotishia
Summary: A quiet double date ends in chaos after a sudden blackout.
Relationships: Gwen Cooper/Rhys Williams
Series: Psyonic [11]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1766956
Comments: 12
Kudos: 21





	1. Dinner guests

Gwen checked her lipstick in the rear view mirror.

“Ready?” Asked Rhys. “I can’t remember the last time we had a proper date.” 

She chuckled lightly. “Usually the world tries to end before we get the chance.”

“You look gorgeous love.”

“You clean up pretty well yourself.” She leaned over and gave him a quick kiss. “And the red looks nice on you.”

He laughed and wiped away the small amount of transferred lipstick before climbing out of the car. They made their way into the small restaurant. It wasn’t the flashiest place but it was warm and welcoming. A family run place that, it felt like, had been there forever. Melody waved to them from a table in the corner. She was dressed smartly, her makeup soft and natural, her hair pinned back in a short braid. 

“Have you been waiting long?” Rhys asked, sitting in the chair closest to the wall.

She shook her head. “I only just got here myself. Heather says she’ll only be a couple of minutes. Thanks again for this.”

“Happy to help. We never get to go anywhere anyway. It’s a nice change.” 

“I just… Really want this to go well. No, unforeseen work related stuff.”

Gwen couldn’t help but agree. She wanted a night off as much as anyone, and a nice meal with Rhys sounded like bliss. She glanced over to the door to see a woman in a black dress enter. Melody noticed and waved. 

“Heather.” She beamed, cheeks flushing brightly. 

The woman made her way over. “Sorry to make you wait.”

“We haven’t been here long. Heather, this is Gwen and Rhys. Guys, this is Heather.”

“It’s nice to meet you.” She said brightly, offering her hand to shake.

As the meal went on everyone relaxed and Gwen began to think, unless her instincts had failed her, that they’d misjudged this woman. She seemed like a decent person and didn’t show any sign of malicious intent at all. They were just considering dessert when the lights began to flicker. Murmurs swept around the room as confused patrons looked to the staff to tell them what was going on. 

“Not the best time for a power cut, eh?” Said Rhys, not bothered in the slightest. Years of dealing with Torchwood level strangeness made a simple power outage seem innocent. 

Heather smiled. “At least we have candles.” She gestured to the candles in the centre of the table. She glanced over at Melody who was staring out of the small window in the door. “What’s wrong?”

“Hmm?” Melody snapped from her trance. “Oh, yea, sorry. I’m off with the fairies.” 

Gwen gave her a questioning look before hearing a soft voice in her mind. 

“ _There’s movement outside. A few people but I can only sense one consciousness_.” 

She slipped her phone in her pocket before excusing herself to the bathroom. There she could text Jack about what was going on without having to answer any questions. The lights flickered again, for longer this time. At least with the rest of the team looking into what was going on she could enjoy her night a little longer. She headed back to the table and gave Melody a comforting smile. The lights went out and the room fell silent. Rhys took an old lighter out of his pocket. He didn’t smoke but some of the lads at work did and they were always looking for a lighter. He lit the candles in the middle of the table. 

“Um… Where did everyone go?” Asked Heather. They all looked around to see the room abandoned. Everything had been left as it was before the lights went out but noone sat in the seats. One of the waiters remained, looking as confused as the group were, as he held open the door to the kitchen. 

“Hello?” He called. “Is anyone in here? Where did you go?” 

Gwen stood and joined him. “The kitchen’s empty too?” 

“Um… Sorry about this… I don’t know what’s going on.” 

“I’ve got a few torches in my car. Why don’t you sit with us while we work it out?”

“Thanks, but I should call my manager or the owner. The phone’s just in the office.” He grabbed one of the unlit candles and lit it from the ones on the groups table. “I promise I’ll try and sort this out.” 

Rhys spoke up. “You shouldn’t go on your own mate. Not if everyone else has just up and disappeared.”

“Here, you can use my phone.” Heather offered, holding out her phone. 

The waiter took it. “Thanks. I’m Rocco, by the way.”

“I’m Heather, this is my girlfriend Melody and her friends Rhys and Gwen.” 

He relaxed a little, knowing the people he had been left with were friendly. “I hope the power comes on soon. It’s so creepy in the dark.”

“It really is.” 

Gwen gave Rhys a beckoning look. “Right. I’m going to get those torches from the car.” He stood and followed her. 

“Be careful out there.” Melody called after them.

The evening air felt unusually still and there was a crushing silence that seemed to blanket the area. There should have been the rumble of traffic, some sign of life, but there was nothing. 

“So, what’s really going on?” Asked Rhys, looking around at the empty cars. 

Gwen shrugged. “Honestly, I don’t know. Melody said she saw people moving outside but only heard one mind, then the lights went out and I have no idea why. I don’t know where all those people went either.” She tucked her phone between her shoulder and ear, listening to it ring. It rang and rang, long past the point it should have gone to voicemail. She hung up and tried Iantos number. The same happened. “Looks like there’s no contacting the hub then.” She sighed, slipping her phone into her pocket. 

“Never a good sign.” Rhys handed her one of the maglights. “Should we just wait?”

“We can have a look around the restaurant. If we don’t find anything there we can try and drive to the hub.” She looked into the darkness that seemed to have swallowed up the city feeling as if she was looking into the vast reaches of space. From the other end of the street a sound broke through the silence. Footsteps. Someone running. Gwen and Rhys moved to intercept them and came face to face with a blond woman in a long coat. 

“Gwen.” She smiled brightly. “That is right, isn’t it?” 

“Yes, I’m sorry, have we met?” Gwen asked, keeping a tight grip on the maglight. 

“Oh right, different face. Very different face. I’m the Doctor.”

She laughed. “No you’re not… No… Are you?”

“I had a bit of an upgrade. We should get inside.” She pushed open the door to the restaurant and stepped inside. 

Rhys looked to where this strange woman who called herself the Doctor had come from and saw hundreds of pairs of eyes staring back at him. “Bloody hell.” He rushed inside with Gwen and grabbed a chair to jam under the door handle to keep it closed. 

“Good idea. We should lock the doors before they get here.”

“Who are _they_?” 

“They didn’t really give me their names but they were very angry. That or hungry.” She took her sonic screwdriver from her pocket and pointed it at the door, the lock clicking into place. She stepped back, seeing eyes staring in through the small window in the door. 

“What is that?!” Rocco gasped. 

Melody frowned. “Whatever it is it’s working on a hive mind.”

“A what?” 

“All of those eyes belong to separate beings but they all run on one mind.”

“Oh, this one’s clever.” The Doctor said, more than a little surprised. “Is she Torchwood too?”

Gwen froze. Mel froze. Rhys internally facepalmed, and Heather looked between each of them for an answer. 

The telepath sighed deeply. “There’s going to need to be retcon all round after this anyway. So yes.”

“Woah, woah, woah, wait. You both work for Torchwood? **The** Torchwood.” Heather said excitedly, almost bouncing. “No wonder you’ve been so secretive about your friends.”

“I can explain later.”

“Does that mean what’s out there is alien?”

“Probably.”

The Doctor looked to Gwen. “And she’s not Torchwood.”

“No.” Gwen shook her head. 

“And she didn’t know.”

“Nope.”

“Ah… Well then. Sorry about that. Bit awkward, but anyway, how did you know it was a hive mind if you don’t know what it is?”

“Melody’s a telepath. I suppose I should introduce you to everyone. Everyone, this is the Doctor. Doctor, this is Melody, her girlfriend Heather, Rocco and my boyfriend Rhys.”

“Hello.”

There were small murmurs of greeting in reply, but the situation didn’t really allow for enthusiasm, those eyes still staring into the room. 

“So, how did you get here? And how did we get here?” Gwen continued.

“All I know is they were chasing me down this street when the lights went out. I kept running and I realised I was looping. Lost track of how many loops I did before this place appeared and I saw you. Now we’re here. So, we can assume whatever’s out there trapped us here.”

Rocco stepped forward nervously. “But why us? This place was full of people. Guests, chefs, the managers, what about them?”

“I think they might have been left behind. If this is a trap then it’s meant to be temporary, but you’re right, why you? Why all of you specifically?” 

Mel kicked off her high heels. “I’d say it was because of Torchwood, but knowing my luck, it’ll be because of me.”

“Why? Have you been making random calls into space for hive minds?” 

“No, but trouble loves to follow me.”

“Me too.”

“Any idea why?”

“Well, for me it’s because I’ve been everywhere. You pick up some… Interesting connections.”

“So not that then.” She placed her shoes with her bag on her chair. “So, we can’t contact the outside world. We’re trapped in here, hiding from whatever is swarming out there in a maybe pocket dimension, with no idea why, no long range weapons and no idea of how to even begin getting out.”

“That’s about it, yes. But we can still find out.”

“That’s why she took her shoes off I think.” Gwen laughed softly. “We should check around the building for anything that feels out of place. Heather, why don’t you and Rocco check on the kitchen. Me and Rhys can check upstairs and Mel, you and the Doctor can check the cellar.”

“Splitting up. Why not?” It was hard to tell if she was being sarcastic or not but everyone else seemed happy with the plan so the groups split off. Heather was happy to use the flashlight on her phone so Mel took the second maglight.

“So, how’s Jack?” The Doctor asked, glancing around the old cellar.

Melody shivered slightly, the feeling of the cold floor under her feet drawing the warmth out of her though it was better than a broken ankle from tipping over on heels. “He’s fine as far as I know. Sorry, but I was wondering if there was a way of you quieting your mind a little? I don’t mean to be rude but it’s very chaotic and it’s hard to concentrate.” She asked nervously.

The Doctor stopped in her tracks. “You can hear my thoughts from there?”

“Yes. I’m sorry. I can’t really control it.”

“Humans can’t do that.”

Mel sighed to herself internally. “So many people have told me that, but here I am… Sorry, I don’t mean to be snappy. This was meant to be a date and I really wanted it to go well.”

“You were being snappy?”

“I… Um… Yes.”

She looked around the dark cellar, the wall lined with wine bottles. It all looked pretty normal. “I don’t think we’re in a complete pocket dimension.”

“Oh?”

“If it was then I would have just reached the end of the road and stopped but instead I ended up at the start. It’s more like space has been stretched so it doesn’t fit exactly. We’re still where we were, but we can’t effect that side and that side can’t effect this side.”

“That makes sense, so how do we unfold it?” We need to find out what did it in the first place. 

A crash and a scream from above sent both women sprinting back up the stairs, finding Heather and Rocco holding the kitchen doors closed, beady eyes looking through the small windows in the wooden doors. One of the creatures hands reached through the gap in between both and clawed at the air. 

“Help!” Cried Heather, her feet not holding traction on the smooth wooden floor. The Doctor braced her back against the same door as Heather and they collectively pushed them back and Mel slid the bolt on the bottom of the doors into place. It wasn’t much but it was better than nothing.

The telepath picked up one of the chairs and tipped it over. “Doctor. You have a sonic screwdriver, right?”

“Yes.” The Doctor nodded, not quite sure what this girl was getting at. 

“We can take the screws out of the chair and use them to secure the door with the pieces of wood.”

“It’s been so long since I actually used this as a screwdriver. Swap places with me.”

She did as she was told, her back aching as she braced against the rattling door. Her back was still healing from being thrown around by Apep, much like her shoulder, and holding back a hoard wasn’t helping. Rhys thundered in and ran over to help, taking Melodys place as he knew she wasn’t exactly doing much to keep those doors from being caved in. Instead she began helping the doctor gather the wood and screws to barricade the door. Three chairs later the doors were solid enough to let them go, the mass of beings locked out. 


	2. The enemy inside

Melody coughed lightly as she slumped into a chair, the noise from beyond the barricaded door dying off. Heather pulled a chair over next to her and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. “You ok?”

“Yea. I’m fine.” Melody said softly. “What happened?”

“We were in the kitchen, looking around when we noticed the outer door rattling. We didn’t have time to lock it when they broke in.” 

Rhys slid down the door. “Mel, can’t you just make them leave us alone?”

“I could but I won’t be able to hold them off forever. If we have no other choice then sure but until then, or we find something that’s acting as a hive queen, I shouldn’t.” Melody leaned on her girlfriends shoulder. 

The Doctor dusted herself off. “And that won’t get us back to civilisation. Did you and Gwen find anything?”

“Not yet. Gwen’s still looking. It’s just a locker room, staff room and staff bathroom up there so it shouldn’t take long to search. Did you find anything in the cellar?” He asked, poking the fallen alien arm, that had been severed by the doors, with a spare chair leg. 

She picked it up with a napkin. “Don’t poke the dead limbs.” Clearing off one of the tables she placed the arm down to examine it. The purple limb looked slightly withered and had no sign of blood, or bones for that matter. It looked more like foam rubber. In fact it felt like foam rubber too. She took out her sonic screwdriver and used the modified device to scan the limb. “Huh…”

“What is it?”

“It’s a fake.”

“It looked pretty real when it was grabbing for us.”

She held it up by the claw and wiggled it in the air, making the fingers flop about comedicly. “See? It’s like a halloween decoration.” 

“So there’s something in a costume?” Mel asked.

“Maybe.”

“Ok, I’ve had enough! You all talking about aliens and Torchwood and now it’s people in costumes?! I’m not paid enough for this.” Rocco snapped, charging towards the front door. He pulled the chair away and reached for the lock as the rest of the group tried to stop him.

Rhys grabbed the smaller man and pulled his arms behind his back. “Ok, take it easy there mate. Let’s not do anything we regret.”

“Let me go! I want to go home!”

“Take it from me, you open that door and you won’t get home. I know this is all a bit mad but you have to stay calm.” The taller man noted how cold the young waiters skin was.

He stopped fighting and Rhys loosened his grip, guiding the man to a chair to sit and get his head together. 

The Doctor placed the chair back against the door, examining the faces staring in through the small window. They looked like halloween masks, mouths moulded half open, showing painted foam rubber teeth. “Oh, now I see. That’s clever.” She breathed. Turning she looked over to the group. “I know what these are. They’re autons.” 

The group stared blankly at her. 

“Invasion force? Nestene consciousness? Plastic robots.” She sighed, wondering why she ever expected anyone to understand, Torchwood or not. 

Gwen walked in from her investigation upstairs. “So we need to melt them, right?”

“Thank you! Yes, or find the controller. I’ve never known them to create pocket dimensions though.”

“Maybe they made a deal with something else. We know of a few beings that are known to make trades to get to us.”

“Probably. But, the good news is we have a telepath. Melody, Mel, can I call you Mel? Mel, can you sever the link between the autons and the controller?”

“I can try.” Melody sat up straight and closed her eyes, trying to target the fractured shards of consciousness and separate them. She was jolted back by an explosion. The door had been obliterated by a blaster hidden in one of the creatures hands.

“Plan B then.”

“Wait, I can do this.” She stood and turned to the animate halloween decoration, lifting her fringe so she could see properly and gain full eye contact. The creatures stopped moving and the one who had fired began to shudder before falling to the floor with a dull thump. Others followed suit, seizing before falling limp, slowly piling up.

Heather stepped forward but was held back by Gwen. “How many are there? Is she going to be ok?”

“She knows what she’s doing.” Gwen sounded confident but she certainly wasn’t feeling that way. If it had been a hoard of humans then it would have been a breeze but this was a different beast altogether. “I tried to see how many of them were out there while I was upstairs and… Well, we’re surrounded.”

The Doctor frowned. “Then this might have to be a temporary measure. The human mind even trained can’t take on the Nestene consciousness one on one after fighting that many fragments. Or without to be honest. It was a long shot that she could take the closest ones out of commission.” She rested a hand on Melodys shoulder. “It’s ok, you can stop. Don’t hurt yourself.”

“I’m fine. The fragments are easy to disable, I’m just searching them for the location of the controller.” Melody said, her voice distant. 

She made her way out of the door to check, taking one of the maglights to check how many had been deactivated. It was like a truck load of halloween props had spilled its contents as piles of foam rubber gargoyles were spread across the dark landscape. All perfectly still. She darted back into the building. “Ok, Mel, I’m impressed but you have to stop. This could be killing you.” She tried to make eye contact with the woman before Rhys placed himself between them. “What are you doing?”

“You don’t want to do that. I’m not sure how it works but eye contact kind of… Um…” He began, trying to show he wasn’t being aggressive, just had concerns about her wellbeing. 

Gwen decided to step in. “It’s like it causes her to download a huge chunk of your memories. That’s why she keeps her hair over her face.” 

The Doctor rolled her eyes. “Humans can’t do that. They have a lot of potential but biologically that’s impossible.”

“I’ve felt it.”

“I don’t know what you’ve felt but I know it isn’t that. Now, let me wake your friend up before her brain melts out of her ears.” She waved both off and stood in front of Melody, looking into her silver eyes, a sudden and violent pull on her mind making her stagger a little. “What?.... What?!... That’s not possible.”

She caught Melody as she too staggered. “I told you.”

“Why?! What the hell!” Mel whimpered, holding her head. “I was so close to finding it.”

Gwen guided her to a chair and Heather grabbed an unopened bottle of water to hand to her. 

“You can’t be human.” The Doctor breathed, not maliciously but in shock. 

After a long drink of water Mel regained her composure. “I’m sick of people saying that! I’ve been tested. I’m one hundred percent human. I’ve had all the scans, the blood tests and the pictures. I get enough of that from my sister! Now, can I please concentrate and try and find this controller so we can get back home?” 

“Hey, it’ll be ok sweetheart.” Heather soothed, petting her girlfriends hair softly. 

“Sorry.”

“It’s fine. This isn’t exactly a normal situation.” She gestured to the pile of purple creatures in the doorway. “I think you’re doing great.” 

“You’re taking this really well.”

“You’re not the only one who’s run into strange stuff all her life. Nothing like this but still. I’ve never felt this safe before though.”

She blushed brightly, her headache easing to nothing. “Only you could think of flirting right now.”

“I’m an opportunist.” She smiled. 

Rhys noticed movement from beyond the door. “I hate to interrupt the moment but I think they’re getting up.” 

“The controller must be close.” The Doctor said, now looking much more in control.

Gwen narrowed her eyes. “They only got violent when Rocco and Heather were in the kitchen, until the door was barricaded on this side.”

“And they shouldn’t have known that.”

“Then they only blasted the door down when you were prevented from leaving.” She said, glaring at Rocco.

“Oh now that’s devious. Hiding in plain sight.”

“That’s why Mel didn’t find you right away because she was looking for something out there. Plus I looked at the lockers while I was up there and you don’t have one with your name on it.” She moved to keep herself between Rocco and the door. 

He glanced around, looking shocked. “No. I’m not… I’m just a waiter… I…”

“Hold out your hand.”

“What? Why?”

“I’m going to check your pulse.” 

“You don’t need to. I’m human!”

Melody turned to him. “Tell us how to get out of here.”

“I… I…” The waiter twitched. “Stop that… I…” He stopped, wide eyed and fell to the floor with a dull thud.

The Doctor blinked away her shock. “What did you do to it?”

“I trapped it inside Roccos head. It made a deal with Osiris. He hasn’t got a new vessel yet but he still has access to technology stashed away. There’s a device hidden on the roof that’s causing the spacial shift.” Melody said, pointing upwards. 

She nodded. “I’ll be back.”

“How are you going to get onto the roof?”

“I’m going to look for a ladder. Or some rope.”

Heather almost bounced. “Wait, I can scale the wall. I free climb on the weekends so it should be pretty easy. If we can get some rope or even chord I can anchor it up there for you.”

“You’re not even close to dressed for climbing.” Gwen pointed out. “You’ll need a change of clothes first. We could try and look in the lockers.”

The Doctor agreed. “Let’s go then.” She ran off and up the stairs, followed by Heather and Gwen. 

Rhys sat in a chair next to Melody. “Well, this has been a night, eh?”

“Yea.” She sighed. “And Heather’s not going to be allowed to remember any of it.” 

“Hey, cheer up. At least you know that when you can tell her what you do she’ll take it well.”

“That’s the problem. She took it too well.”

“That’s… A problem?”

“Well, yea. You don’t take things that well in a situation like this without having a past full of this kind of thing. I know everyone’s been a bit worried that she was something trying to get close to me but I’ve been brushing it off. I don’t think I can anymore.” 

“I mean, she doesn’t seem like she’s a bad person even if she has a strange reaction to this.”

“They never do.” She sniffled. 

He wrapped an arm around her shoulders. “Come here. It’s ok.” 

She leaned into him, appreciating the comfort as the ache in her head, neck and shoulders rose again. She was tired, in pain and wishing she could be anywhere else. 

Heather slipped on the oversized shirt and trousers, rolling up the legs and using a hair tie to stop them falling down at the waist. Her phone slipped into the pocket and secured with another hair tie so she had some kind of light. It was good enough for a quick climb. She thanked her lucky stars she’d worn flats as she took one end of a set of braided cables from the Doctor and held it between her teeth as she climbed out onto the windowsill. She reached up and got a good finger hold on the bricks before moving her feet from the plastic sill. She carefully moved up towards the guttering which would be the hardest bit to climb over. Hard but not impossible. She tested the structure of the roofing tiles, finding that they were pretty flimsy all things considered, as she pulled one away. Instead she slipped her fingers into the main structure of the roof and clambered up, reaching up towards the old chimney. It wasn’t used any more but it was good enough to use as an anchor. She tied the cable around it and tested it. It held. 

“Ok, ready to climb up Doctor?” She called down. 

The cables pulled taught as the Doctor began her climb. Heather offered her hand to help the time lord up onto the roof. 

“Be careful. The tiles are a bit slippery.”

“This isn’t the first rooftop I’ve climbed onto.” She said as she dusted herself off, pulling the torch from her pocket and shining it around the area. Something glinted from just inside the chimney. “Of course it’s in the chimney.” She reached in and pulled out the mass of wires and boards in a twisted metal casing. “Hold this.” She handed it to Heather, who stood there holding it out, not sure if she wanted to get any closer to it. The Doctor moved the sonic screwdriver around the device and the lights of Cardiff began to fade back in with the sound of traffic. 


	3. Eyes in a mirror

“Jack!” The Doctor beamed as she swept out of the restaurant, Roccos plastic head tucked under her arm.

The captain didn’t recognise this woman at first, wondering how she knew his name, but as he thought about where they’d found the TARDIS and this figures familiar mannerisms her identity slotted into place. “Doctor?”

“Look at you. Haven’t changed a bit.”

“And you’ve changed a lot. Love the blonde.” He pulled her into a hug and kissed her cheek. “I should have known you’d be involved.”

“Well, I couldn’t help myself.” She handed over the plastic head. “Nestene.”

“Ah.” 

Owen looked over at them and nudged Tosh in the arm. “Typical. Random woman giving him head right in the open.”

“Owen!” Tosh laughed.

“Couldn’t help myself.”

“Well, you could help me make sure no one’s here that shouldn’t be.”

“Or, and hear me out, we just ask Gwen.” He gestured to Gwen who was talking to her boyfriend just inside the doorway.

“Oh this is going to be upsetting. Wasn’t she doing the whole double date thing tonight?”

“Shit, yea. Not the best way to be introduced to Mels girlfriend. Dinner with a side of retcon.”

“Poor thing. She was so nervous about tonight anyway.”

Gwen walked over. “I know that Jack’s busy, but Melody thinks that he might have been right about something being off about Heather. She was hoping you could run a few tests. Just tell her it’s because of contact with this lot or something.”

“Really?” Owen asked. “I was suspicious too but at this point I thought we might have just been paranoid. Yea, I can run a few tests.” 

“Thanks. Mel’s a bit broken up about it, bad enough this all happened tonight but that on top.”

“Mind staying to hold Heathers hand? Melody’s going to be too emotionally invested to do anything if things go to shit.”

“Of course. Let’s just hope we’re all being a bit paranoid.”

Ianto headed out of the restaurant holding a box containing the pocket dimension generator safely locked inside followed by Melody and Heather. The latter having changed back into her dress. Jack and the Doctor intercepted the group.

“Is something wrong?” Asked Ianto.

Jack held up the plastic head. “This needs to be secured and melted down as soon as possible.” 

He raised an eyebrow but took the chunk of plastic anyway. “Right away. Um… Have we met?”

“Right, yea, this is the Doctor... New face.” He clarified.

He smiled politely. “Oh, it’s nice to meet you face to face.” 

“It’s been a while, for me, not you… Maybe for you.” The doctor smiled. “Mel, I was asking Jack if I could borrow you for ten minutes.”

Melody looked to Jack, the remnants of smudged mascara still visible under her eyes. “W-what for? I mean I’m ok with it but…”

“She just wants to talk to you about your telepathy but somewhere a bit more private.” Jack clarified.

“Ok. That sounds fine.” 

Gwen had pulled Heather aside to explain the testing process before they’d left the scene and she’d seemed pretty relaxed about everything. Melody had given her girlfriend a tight hug and a kiss before heading off, assuring her everything would be fine. Heather wasn’t completely sure but there wasn’t any turning back now. She followed Gwen to the medical bay, looking around the expanse of the hub with wide eyes, not sure what to make of it all. Owen was waiting for them, coat and gloves on and ready for his part in all this. 

“Right, hop up on the table and we’ll get started.” He said with a smile. 

Heather did as she was asked, playing with her fingers nervously. “This isn’t exactly what I expected. I always thought secret organisations had super futuristic places.”

“Don’t let the old tiles fool you, the tech we use around here is beyond anything you could imagine. Sadly there are a few things we still have to do the old fashioned way. Are you ok with me taking some blood?” 

“Sure. As long as I don’t have to look.”

“You can look wherever you like. It’ll be over before you know it.”

Gwen moved round to hold Heathers free hand. “Don’t worry, Owen’s a bit sharp but he knows what he’s doing.”

“I just don’t like needles. You should have seen me when I had my tattoo done. I was shaking like a leaf.” 

“Oh, what did you get?” She asked, keeping the woman distracted while Owen worked.

“It’s a blue lotus encircled by two bronze snakes. My brother originally drew it.”

“Is he an artist?”

“He’s an Egyptologist but he does all of his own sketches on dig sites and for text books. The lotus was from a temple to a lesser goddess of love. Qadesh.”

“That’s lovely.”

She winced at the sharp sting in her arm. “Thanks. Don’t tell Mel but I was so freaked out tonight. When the Doctor mentioned Torchwood I thought my heart was going to jump out of my mouth. You’re one step from being an urban legend, you know?”

“We try.” Gwen chuckled. “You said you were used to strange stuff happening.” 

“Yea. When I was little my mum says I told her about a shadow man that walked around our house. She thought I had an imaginary friend until stuff started being moved around the house in places I couldn’t get to and my brothers started having nightmares. She smudged the whole house and called the priest to bless the place. Not that it did anything but it made her feel better. The shadow man didn’t follow when we moved. Then there were the lights I used to see hovering outside my window at night, and the thing that lived under the underpass that I heard attacked someone. It was this big leathery skinned creature with huge fangs. It probably would have attacked me if my brothers hadn’t started throwing rocks at it.” She looked over to her arm and saw there was already a cotton ball taped over where the blood had been taken. “Oh, wow, that was quick.” 

“Told you he wasn’t bad.”

“Um… What’ll happen after this? I mean I’m pretty sure I’m not supposed to know Torchwood even exists.”

“Don’t worry about that for now, yea? Let’s concentrate on making sure you’re healthy. The amount of stuff we’ve had to be vaccinated against is crazy so we just want to be sure you haven’t picked up anything.” 

“I really hope not.”

“The chances are really low, we’re just being careful.”

“Did I at least make a good impression tonight? Meeting the parents in a new relationship is one thing but if you make a bad impression with the friends is a lot scarier.” 

“Yes you did. I wouldn’t be here if you hadn’t, yea?” 

Melody followed the Doctor to the door of the TARDIS, a little confused as to where it had come from as she couldn’t see any signs of something that could propel this vintage police call box. The door swung open and the Doctor stepped inside, light shining from within the small room. Or at least it should have been small. Mel couldn’t quite get her head around the physics of the huge space contained inside the small box. She stepped inside and marvelled at the strange architecture, studying the intricate detailing all around.

“Well, come in then.” The Doctor said brightly.

Melody closed the door behind her. “This place is beautiful.”

“If you’re amazed at this your head would explode at some of the things out there. Not literally. Mostly.” She began searching through boxes and bags in the far side of the room.

“You wanted to talk to me about my telepathy?”

“Yes. One sec, just need to find something.”

She stood uncomfortably moving from foot to foot, wishing she hadn’t worn high heels. “Anything I could help with?”

“Nope.” She kept digging before standing back, holding an ophthalmoscope. “Got it!” She zipped back to Melody. “Now, I just want to have a look at one eye at a time. And don’t slap me.”

“Why would I slap you?”

She looked through the device and into Mels eye. “When did you develop your telepathy?”

“I don’t know. I know I had it when I was four but I could have had it before then.”

She frowned deeply, not that Mel could see as she had one eye closed and the other was filled with light. “What did they do to you.” She breathed. 

“Is there something wrong?” 

She moved to the other eye. “I think I see what this is, but I don’t know how it was done.”

“Um…”

“Your eyes have been modified, possibly when you were still a baby, to give you the ability to not only read minds but instantly make a copy of them. Like the memories of any person you made eye contact with. Humans never evolve this ability naturally so something must have manually tampered with the cellular structure of your eyes and brain.”

“But how… And why?”

“I don’t know. It could have been an experiment, an attempt to further human development.”

“Why aren’t there others like me then? I’ve tried to find people like me all of my life.”

“I doubt they survived. The human brain simply isn’t built for that kind of stress.”

Melody stepped back, closing her eyes. “But I’ve spoken to other telepaths.”

“Yes, humans can have telepathy, just not to the level you are at.”

“Is that why alien activity follows me everywhere I go?” She gripped her ribs.

The Doctor gently grabbed her arms. “Melody. Breathe. It’s ok.”

“Doctor, please, if you know then please tell me. All of my life I’ve been a target and I’ve never known why. Even other humans fall to it. People who’ve looked into my eyes… They’ve sometimes… How do I explain… It’s like they get this obsession with either keeping me for themselves or killing me to make sure no one else ever gets the chance to take me away.” There was a deep desperation in her voice, tears forming in her eyes.

She pulled Melody into a tight hug. “I can’t be sure, but as far as I see it they’re just doing what they were always going to do. Your eyes show them a reflection of themselves, who they really are and some people can’t face that. None of that is your fault.”

Owen carefully studied the screen in front of him that showed Heathers scans. Her blood test showed that she was completely human, at least genetically, but the scans showed anomalies. If he didn’t know better he’d swear that her bones had grown over some kind foreign body in certain areas, but she had no history of being in a crash or anything that would leave shrapnel behind or any scars from an event. He isolated the strange growths and noticed that whatever was inside the bone had the same density as quartz. He grabbed the bekaran scanner and returned to where Gwen and Heather were chatting. 

“Is there something wrong?” Heather asked, her nerves returning. 

He hopped down the steps. “Just need to check something. You’ve never had any kind of surgery, have you?”

“No. My doctor said I had a few bumps on my bones but they don’t do anything bad so they were just left alone.”

“How long have you had them?”

“I think they were noticed when I was six. I fell off my bike and had to have an xray which is when the first one was found.” She held out her arm and ran her fingers over a slight bump that wouldn’t ever be noticed if she didn’t push on her arm to highlight it. 

He held the scanner over the area and tuned the image, moving through the layers of bone to find what was inside. It looked like a broken chunk of a crystal ball. One side slightly domed and completely smooth and the other side being rough. He moved to the bump on her left fibula, finding a similar piece. Knowing what he was looking for he rushed to the computer at the one side of the medical bay, setting up a scan specifically to identify the shape of each crystal chunk. Once it had the shapes he began placing them together, reconstructing the orb. Each piece had a place and once together they formed a familiar shape. They were parts of a crystal eye. “One more question. Did your mum go through any kind of physical trauma before you were born?”

“Yea. She was in a car crash.”

“That car crash might have saved your life.”

“What?”

He brought a projection of his screen up on the wall so she could see it. “Each of those bumps hold a small piece of crystal. Put them all together and you get this.”

“It looks like an eye.”

“Exactly. Was your mum in Egypt while she was pregnant?”

“Yea. My dad’s an archaeologist and he was on a dig until a month before I was born. It was the drive from the airport that ended in the crash. Are you saying bits of that thing are in my bones?”

“I don’t know how it got where it did but while you were developing that eye was inside your body. The crash shattered it and whatever power was left in it tried to pull itself back together and fix itself. Instead it bonded with your bone tissue.”

“What does that mean?”

“It means you escaped being used as a lifelong meat puppet for an alien consciousness.”

“So… I’m carrying around pieces of a dead alien?”

“Exactly. It’s contained so you don’t have to worry about it.”

“I’ve got nothing to worry about?”

“As far as I’m concerned you have a clean bill of health. Now, I’m going to tell Jack and we can go from there.” 


	4. The grateful living.

The Doctor handed Melody a tissue to dry her eyes. “Here. No use getting makeup all down your face.”

“Thanks. Sorry.” She wiped away the mix of melted mascara and tears. “I’m usually not this emotional unless something really bad’s happened.”

“You’re allowed to be sad.”

“Today’s just been long and my back’s still aching from being thrown across a warehouse by an alien parasite in a human body that wanted to kill me. It bit me too. As if my back hasn’t gone through enough with the implants.”

“Implants?”

Mel pulled up the back of her shirt to show the metal bumps lined with connection ports in the centre of a back covered in healing bruises. 

“Tengarien control system.”

She let her shirt fall back down. “Their computer was badly damaged so they wanted to use me as a temporary replacement. It didn’t end well for either of us.”

“People don’t usually run into more than one alien in their lives.”

“Told you. I’ve always attracted attention.”

“I can’t tell what would do that. Unless…”

“Unless?”

“Telepaths get stronger the more stress they’re under. It’s possible whoever increased your potential has been pulling strings to make your life hard. It’s not probable, but it is possible.”

“You’d need to have knowledge of all of time and the power to subtly twist the universe to pull that off… But at the moment we’re still trying to stop these eyes of Egypt.”

“I know what those are.”

“You do?”

“Wait… No. What are they?”

“They’re the parasitic beings that need human vessels to reach their full potential. A set of twelve were found in Egypt which is where they got their name. We know there are more than twelve now and each took on the name of an Egyptian god. In their basic form they look like orbs of different materials. I’ve seen one made of crystal that could separate and hold its own form. Ianto says there’s one that looks like a giant isopod made of gold. The one that bit me was a snake made of silver. Don’t get me wrong, they’re not all bad. A couple have been trying to help us as much as they can while staying away.”

She paused, trying to think of anything that sounded similar to what Melody was describing. “I’ve never met a race like that. It’d be easier if I could see one.”

“I think we have one contained in the archive. I’m sure Jack would love your help. Have you ever seen the hub before?”

“Never.”

“You’ll love it. It’s right below us technically. We have a pteranodon called Myfanwy who has a nest in there. Tosh has two little robots that help her called Syn and Tax. They’re adorable.”

“Nice wordplay. I love some good wordplay.”

Jack made his way to the door of the TARDIS and knocked, feeling a sharp chill in the air. The door opened with a light click. It looked so different inside but there was still a fondness and familiarity that washed over him as he walked towards the centre console. Melody tried to hide the tissue that was the only thing between her and mascara pouring down her cheeks, what was left of it anyway. 

“Is everything ok?” She asked.

“I was about to ask you the same thing. I’ve got some good news for you.”

“Oh?”

“We found what we were all picking up on about Heather. She’s carrying an eye of Egypt, but lucky for her it’s in pieces. It has no control over her so she’s free to go. She’ll still need to be retconned but you can safely reschedule your date.”

Her face lit up as if it was christmas morning. “Really? You’re sure?”

“I still want you to keep an eye on her but for now we don’t see her as a threat.” 

“Thank you.” She was about to run out when she turned to the Doctor. “And thank you. If there’s anything you ever need then I’ll gladly help.” 

The Doctor nodded and waved as the woman ran off as quickly as her high heels would let her. 

Jack chuckled. “Young love.”

“Did you know?”

“Know what?”

“Something experimented on her. That’s how she has the level of telepathy she does.”

“No… We’ve been trying to work out how it works but we can only do so much. Think someone’ll come back to collect their data?”

“I don’t know… Jack, I was actually here to visit you.”

“Oh?” He looked to her with surprise. “I thought I was  _ wrong _ .” He was more bitter than he liked to admit. 

She sighed. “I was wrong.”

“You? Admitting you were wrong?”

“Jack. Listen, it’s been a long time since we last met and… I’ve learned a lot… I’m sorry for how I treated you. I thought I couldn’t fix it so I ran away… I still can’t fix it but maybe I can make forever more bearable.” She took what looked like a small, light tan, computer chip from her pocket and held it out to him. “It’s a modified Mire repair kit. If you find someone you couldn’t go on without it’ll make them essentially immortal.”

He took the chip, letting what he’d just been told sink in. “Doctor… How-”

“I know what it’s like to be alone and I left you like that. At the time I thought that was best… But that doesn’t make it better. I-” She was cut off by Jack pulling her into a crushing hug. 

He pressed his face into her shoulder, holding back tears. “Thank you.” He managed to say, his voice catching in his throat. “Thank you.”

Heather was carefully putting her coat on as Melody entered. “Did everything go ok with the Doctor?” She asked with a soft smile. 

“Yea. We talked a few things over. Jack said you’ve been cleared to go home.” 

“Yep. I’m in perfect health apparently. We should go and get my car from the restaurant.”

“Let me go and grab a change of footwear if we’re walking.”

“Oh, I’m going to be heading home anyway so I can give you a lift.” Gwen said warmly. “Rhys said he wanted to stay back and at least pay for our meal.”

“Oh god, we didn’t pay did we. I’ll send you our half later.”

“Don’t worry about it.”

“If you’re sure.”

“Of course. Come on.” 

Gwen drove them back to the restaurant to meet Rhys, who was helping a very confused clean up crew and even more confused restaurant staff move the hundreds of foam rubber gargoyles into bin bags. He was happy to bow out if he was honest.

“Just in time.” He said brightly as he saw his girlfriend. “I’m going to be having nightmares about these bloody foam monsters for months. They’re never ending.”

Gwen laughed softly. “Next halloween’s going to be fun.”

“Yea. I’ll be going postal in the holiday isle in Tesco.”

“Get in the car you soft sod.” She smiled, gesturing to the passenger seat as Melody and Heather got out. 

Heather stopped before heading to her own car. “I know tonight isn’t anything like we planned but it’s been really nice to meet you guys and hopefully next time we can hang out without being attacked by rubber monsters.”

“You too. And I can’t promise anything.” She teased. “Take care on the way home.”

She waved and made her way over to her car. 

“Oh, Mel, before you go…” Gwen beckoned Melody over to the drivers side window and handed her a folded piece of paper. Or that’s what it looked like from the outside. It actually contained a blister pack with two retcon pills inside. “Are you going to be ok doing this?”

The blonde woman nodded. “Though, I might just try and modify her memories so tonight isn’t a complete loss. Plus it’ll make explaining the blood test easier.”

“I trust you. If you don’t use them just bring them back in.”

“Will do. Thanks again for tonight.”

“It was fun, other than the killer plastic.”

“Yea.”

“Go on, it’s freezing tonight and you’re not dressed for it.” 

She nodded and trotted over to Heathers car, climbing in. 

The Doctor gasped, not at the hub, but at the two small robots pootling around next to Toshikos desk. “Aww, look at you two. I haven’t seen any of you for ages.”

The two beeped happily and waved their little stump arms then pointed to their little decorated home of a docking station. It had little walls and a roof made of cardboard that were painted sunshine yellow and had the words “Syn” and “Tax” painted on the top in blue. The sides were covered in stickers and the sheets that they came from were tucked just inside, meaning that they’d been the ones to decorate their own home.

“I love your stickers.”

Syn pulled out one of the sheets, pulled off one of the stickers, a sparkly rainbow, and held it out.

“For me?” She crouched down to more easily communicate with the little robot.

It beeped cheerily and waved the sticker.

The Doctor took it. “Thank you.” She stood and turned to Jack. “I got a sticker.” She said proudly, placing the sticker on the outside of the wallet that contained psychic paper.

“Glad you’re making friends.” Jack laughed. “Hungry?”

“I wasn’t until you said. I could go for a fried egg sandwich.”

“That could be arranged.” He looked to Ianto who nodded and went to find a menu for anywhere that could provide at that time of evening. 

She sat on the sofa, arms stretched across the back. “So, this is what you’ve been up to. I like it. Kind of post industrial chic.”

“Oh, hello again.” Said Tosh, emerging from the medical bay.

“Hi. We haven’t spoken since you came to look at the space pig.”

She chuckled to herself. “That turned out to be just a pig. To be honest I was more interested in the ship, but that’s what I get for covering for Owen.”

“Owen?”

“Of course, you haven’t properly met him. He’s our staff doctor.”

“And you were covering for him because-”

“He had a hangover.” Jack said.

Owen called up from the medical bay. “I couldn’t get out of bed. You were better off with Tosh. I would have seen the pig and told everyone to sod off.”

“You would have told them that without the hangover.” Tosh called back. 

“True.” 

Jack chuckled to himself. “Are you both staying for dinner?”

“I’d rather grab something on the way home.” Owen announced, walking up and dropping a set of reports on his desk. “No offense but I’ve been here since six this morning and I’m ready to crash. Ready to go Tosh?”

Tosh had been pulling on her coat. “Yep. Will you be here tomorrow Doctor?”

“I might be. Mel said I might be able to help you with this eyes of Egypt problem.” The Doctor said.

“I hope to see you in the morning then.” 


	5. Take the good with the bad

Melody kicked off her shoes and sunk into the sofa, tired and aching. 

“Shall we call it a night?” Heather asked. “I don’t know about you but I’m exhausted.”

She nodded and gave a weak smile. “Sounds good. Try not to worry too much when you see my bruises.”

“Yea, what happened with that? You’ve been kind of evasive about it.”

“I got thrown around by an alien that happened to have venom and fangs to deliver it.” She began unbuttoning her top and pulled down the shoulder to show the yellow remnants of bruising over her shoulder with a set of fresh, pink, scars where Apeps fangs had pierced.

Heather reached over and ran her fingers over the scars gently. “How do you go into work every day knowing this could happen?”

“In all fairness I’m usually just in the office but I don’t do it because of the job. I do it because I can’t let my friends die because I was scared. I can properly help people so it’s worth it.”

“I still can’t believe Torchwood’s real. And it’s right here under everyones noses. I keep thinking I’m about to wake up from a really strange dream.”

“Speaking of dreaming, I’m going to go and have a wash before bed.” Melody kissed her girlfriend on the cheek before going to get ready to head to bed. 

She let the night go on as normal until she was sure Heather was asleep to start the process of changing her memories. Fighting through the guilt of what she was doing was tougher than the action. It was for the best, right? She had to believe that. Otherwise she could never look at Heather again. 

Ianto didn’t know how to feel about the Doctor. He’d been so angry every time Jack had spoken about how he’d been treated but this woman, who was apparently the same person, was so friendly towards him. She’d spoken to him like an equal and happily offered her help to deal with the eyes of Egypt. He’d just finished throwing away the rubbish, washing his hands, and was considering going to bed as the Doctor had disappeared off to the TARDIS, when Jack appeared beside him. 

“I’ll be with you in a second.” He said.

Jack didn’t reply at first, an oddity for him. In fact he almost looked nervous. “Ianto… I have something to ask you.”

“Oh?” He dried his hands and dropped the towel on the edge of the sink. “Go ahead.”

“The Doctor gave me something and…” He tried to find the correct words.

“You aren’t leaving are you?”

“What?! No! No. I’m staying right here.” He let out the breath he’d been holding, his heart pounding in his head, more frightened than he’d been in a very long time. “She said she was sorry for before and gave me this.” He held out the Mire repair kit.

“Ok? What is it?”

“It’s a kind of first aid kit. They’re used to heal even the most fatal wounds. Once it’s linked with someone they become almost impossible to kill.”

“I’m sure Tosh would be happy to-”

“Ianto... Listen to me. This is made for one person... The Doctor said it was wrong that I was alone for so long. She gave me this and told me that if there was someone who I couldn’t imagine going on without then I could give them this. They’d be immortal.”

His eyes widened, realising the scale of what he’d been told. “That’s… Amazing. Who were you considering?”

“You.” The word hung in the air, but before Ianto could answer Jack cut him off again. “If you say no I’ll understand. Forever’s a long time and there’s no reversing this. I couldn’t stand it if thirty or fourty years down the road you start resenting me for it, so I really need you to think about it.”

“Jack… I…”

“You don’t need to give me an answer right away. It would mean watching your family age and die. You’ll lose friends, watch the world change around you.”

He took Jacks hand. “Will you show me the universe?”

“I… Y-yes. I’ll show you everything I can.”

“And be there when I break down every time someone passes away?”

“Of course.”

“Will you be able to stand having me around sixty years from now?”

“I could never turn you away.”

He looked deep into Jacks blue eyes, seeing a desperate fear inside him. “I want to stay with you forever.”

“Then tomorrow I’ll ask you again. Sleep on it. I need you to be sure.”

“My answer’ll be the same, but if it makes you feel better-” His words were cut off by a kiss that he gladly leaned into.

Gwen had happily settled in for the night with Rhys but he seemed a little on edge. He’d been through a lot worse than the events of the evening so she wasn’t sure why. 

“What’s up?” She asked, poking him in the side.

He jumped, snapped out of his thoughts. “What? Sorry. Just thinking, no matter how well I plan it we’re probably never going to have a quiet night out, are we?”

“I’m sure we will. At least we got to finish our meal this time.”

“It’s just… One sec.” He pulled himself from the sofa and disappeared into their bedroom, returning minutes later with something hidden between his hands.

“What’s that?”

He sighed and got down on one knee. “I wanted to do something really romantic but if I try that the planet might get invaded so… Gwen Cooper-” he held out the box and opened it to reveal a very nice gold ring with a gemstone set in the centre, “-will you marry me?”

“Yes.” She said behind her hands, happy tears running down her face. “Of course I will.”

He slipped the ring onto her finger and climbed back to his feet, a broad smile on his face. She jumped up and wrapped her arms around him. She didn’t need a huge gesture, an audience or a fancy backdrop, she just needed him. Her wonderful, reliable, Rhys. 

A rare moment of calm fell across Cardiff as people slept soundly and a thin layer of frost grew over every exposed surface. The cold seemed to swallow up any and all sound even after sunrise. Though it was Saturday, Tosh was up bright and early to go to the hub to continue one of her private projects. She’d managed to wipe Ammits original programming and had replaced it with an AI similar to the one installed in Syn and Tax. It was having trouble with its pathing as it assumed it was a lot smaller than it actually was. 

Owen yawned, walking into the living room with the duvet around his shoulders. “It’s too cold to go out.” 

“Good thing you don’t have to follow me then.” She smiled, watching him flop down on the sofa. 

“But you’re warm and Ammit isn’t going anywhere. Join me in the duvet fort.” 

She lifted his chin and gave him a kiss. “I’ll see you later.”

He waited until she’d turned around before pulling her into the duvet, wrapping them both up like a burrito, making her giggle.

“You’re not helping.”

“I’m not trying to help.” He grinned cheekily.

“How about if I’m done before lunch I bring something nice home?”

He considered it for a long moment. “I suppose I can agree to that. As long as that nice thing involves you, none of your clothes… And maybe pizza.”

“I’m sure I can arrange at least one of those things.”

“Fine.” He kissed her cheek and let her go. 

When she reached the hub, Jack, Ianto and the Doctor were discussing the little she’d found about the eyes of Egypt. She’d ended up only finding legends and whispered stories that were even close to the description of the eyes. Tosh dropped her bag beside her desk and pulled over a chair. Jack gave her a welcoming smile. 

“Every story I could find about these orbs starts with them being dug up and causing chaos. Some do good things, others do bad things. A lot of it is a good versus bad moral stuff. But they all also go into what the orbs final goal generally is. Once they group together, whether they want to or not, they become one being. That’s when it becomes an apocalyptic event.” The Doctor explained. 

Ianto thought it over. “Then we’re safe. Some of them have already been destroyed so that can’t happen.”

“Maybe, but maybe not. It doesn’t say just how many need to join together to set it off. That and these are all second or third hand accounts.”

“Then we just capture as many as possible until they can’t form.”

“Let me take a couple of them. I can take them somewhere they can’t hurt anyone.” 

Jack nodded. “Good idea. Ianto, can you bring the three complete ones we have from the archives?”

“Of course.” Ianto said as he stood. 

Tosh stood to join him. “I’ve got some work to do on Ammit down there so I’ll come with you.” 

“How long do you think before we can use it?”

“She should only take a few more weeks to be fully ready once I’ve worked out this spacial awareness issue.” 

“What’s Ammit?” The Doctor asked. “I assume a robot of some kind but you know.”

“Oh, Ammit is a robot we confiscated from Osiris. It was originally intended as a weapon, but I’ve been reprogramming her to go into hazardous areas and collect data. She won’t be affected by temperature or radiation so she could go into places we never could. She still looks intimidating, but she’s very friendly.”

“Can I meet her?”

“I don’t see why not.”

Melody had eventually fallen asleep, her guilty mind refusing to let her rest well. Her dreams a cascade of destruction. She stood atop the rubble of a building, staring up at a orange sky that looked as if it were on fire, something massive looming over the landscape moving across the horizon. Only the roar of flames filled her ears. She spoke but her words were lost on the wind, carried away with the ash and dust. Looking down she saw that she was covered in dirt and blood. She took a step forwards and fell, jolting awake with a gasp. Pulling her thoughts back together she realised she was alone in the room. She sat up and rubbed her eyes, looking around for her girlfriend. She stumbled out of bed and slipped on her dressing gown, the scent of food heavy in the air. As she walked over to the kitchen she saw Heather, dressed in an oversized tee shirt, cooking bacon. 

“Morning.” Mel smiled sleepily. 

She turned. “Oh, I thought you were still asleep. You were really restless last night.”

“Yea, sorry. I just couldn’t settle. How are you this morning?”

“My arm’s a little sore, but it’s no big. You have time for a quick shower if you want. I can keep everything warm.” She smiled brightly.

She gave her a quick hug. “Thanks. I won’t be long.” She rushed off to the bathroom and slipped off her dressing gown, then turned on the shower. The guilt had returned and she hoped the hot water would help ease her overly tight muscles. It was no wonder her dreams were such a mess.

“I see the problem.” The Doctor said, looking over the lion sized robot. 

Tosh wasn’t sure what she could have missed. “Oh?”

“It’s not a problem with the software.” She took her sonic screwdriver from her pocket and aimed it at each leg in turn. “Try again Ammit.”

The robot nodded and walked steadily over to the start point, an X drawn onto the floor in chalk, and trotted to the other end of the room. Instead of stopping short or bumping into the wall, it managed to stop on the second mark. 

“There we go. Some of the wires had stretched so you weren’t getting the measurements you thought you were. Bit of a design flaw but I think it gives her charm.” The Doctor smiled and patted the robots head fondly.

Tosh sighed. “Of course. I knew my code was correct. I’ll have to replace a few components because of residual water damage anyway so I’ll just add the tension wires to the list. Thank you for the help.” 

“Sometimes you need a new set of eyes on the problem, and I’m very clever.”

“Will you be visiting again soon?”

She shrugged. “I’ll have to see where life takes me. I’m glad this time has people to protect it so I shouldn’t be needed, but if you do I’m sure you’ll find a way to contact me.”

“I’m already thinking of a few ways.” She closed her laptop. “Stay safe out there.”

“Where’s the fun in that?”


End file.
